The Truth About Suicide Some call it self-deliverance. Others call it murder. Survivors know it as a nightmare that haunts them forever. Here’s the truth about its cause—and ultimate solution. By Dennis Leap (h�ps://www.thetrumpet.com/authors /6-dennis-leap) FROM THE FEBRUARY 2013 TRUMPET PRINT EDITION (/TRUMPET_ISSUES/151)
Ge�ing over the loss of a loved one who intentionally takes his own life is close to impossible. “When Mom told me Dad was dead, I was shocked. When she told me he had killed himself, I was horrified. My brain went numb,” a young friend of mine, Dawn, explains, with tears flowing. “It took about four months before I didn’t think about what he did every day—four months before the pain began to dull. My dad hung himself; trying to escape his problems, I guess. But I couldn’t escape what he had done. For four months I dealt with constant mental torment and agony. I was scared to be alone. I tried to keep myself occupied so I wouldn’t think about it. Anything was be�er than thinking of what he had done. Why did he do it? That question always comes back into my mind. I still don’t like to tell people how he died. “For over a year, I stru�gled with feelings of guilt. I thought that I wasn’t a good daughter. My dad loved me so much, but I was too busy for him. The last time I saw him was two days before Father’s Day. We had dinner together. He wasn’t doing too well then. He had some financial problems. But I never thought he would kill himself. “I never spoke to Dad aer that. I was going to call him … always going to call him, yet I never did. I still wonder if I could have helped him had I called him. I get melancholy every year around the anniversary of his death, Father’s Day and his birthday. I guess I will always wonder, Would he still be here if I had called?”